Wild Card (Stone Barrington #49)(51)

“We could wire her up, so that what she overhears can be recorded.”

“And if they search her, she’ll never leave the building alive. What you’ve already got, though, is the conversation Elise heard about them trying to kill all of us, and that, combined with whatever she might have heard before, might be enough to get a conviction.”

“Well, she’d be a damned fine witness,” Dino said.

“Then go see Ken Burrows.”

“All right,” Dino said. “I’ll try to get in there this afternoon.”

“Good idea.”

“Oh, I almost forgot. The hospital detail just called, and Sherry can be released today. They want to know where to send her on a stretcher.”

“To my house,” Stone said. “We can make her comfortable here, and I’ll hire a nurse to administer her medications and to be here in the event of an emergency.”

“Okay. You’d better get the place ready for her.” Dino hung up.

Stone called in Joan. “We’re going to have a visitor today, and she’ll be staying with us for a week or two. She’ll be arriving on a stretcher.”

“This is Sherry, then?”

“Right. Ask the housekeepers to get Peter’s old suite ready for her and to make room for a hospital bed. Then ask my doctor to recommend a private nursing service and a place to rent a hospital bed.”

“Is she going to need a lot of monitoring devices?”

“If she does, we’ll hear about it before she arrives.”

“Okay, I’ll get right on it,” she said.



* * *



? ? ?

Rance Damien, out of an abundance of caution, was reviewing the personnel files of the five secretaries who worked on the executive floor. He stopped when he came to a name: D’Orio. That was the maiden name of Elise Grant’s mother. He buzzed Elise, and she came in.

“Have a seat, Elise,” he said pleasantly. She did so. “I was just reviewing everybody’s files for vaccinations, and I see that your mother’s maiden name is D’Orio.”

“Yes, sir, that’s right.”

“Where was she born?”

“In Italy, but she came to this country when she was only three years old.”

“Did she speak any Italian?”

“She once told me that her mother and father wanted the family to be American, so they had a rule of speaking only English at home. Both my grandparents already spoke English, and they didn’t want my mother to be at a disadvantage when she started school.”

“Did your mother retain any of her Italian?”

“No, we only spoke English at home. My father was British, and I was sometimes accused by schoolmates of having an English accent.”

“Did you ever study foreign languages?”

“I took French in high school, but I was never really conversant. When I went to Paris, I could ask questions in French, but I couldn’t understand the answers.”

“Have you ever visited Italy?”

“I spent a week in Rome on a tour when I was in college.”

Damien suddenly switched to Sicilian. “If you’re lying to me, I’ll have your tongue cut out,” he said, with a small smile.

“Sir?”

“Didn’t you understand me?” he asked in English.

“No, sir.”

“It’s not important, Elise. Thanks for coming in.”

“Any time, sir. When are we getting vaccinations?”

“That’s in the planning stages. We’ll let you know.”



* * *



? ? ?

Elise returned to her desk and sat down. She made a point of going on with her work, as if nothing had happened, but she was having a hard time controlling her shaking. Something had happened. Damien was now suspicious of her. She hoped Bob had overheard her conversation with him through his bug.



* * *



? ? ?

    When she got home she was about to call Bob Cantor when her new cell phone rang. “Hello?”

“Don’t say anything,” Bob said, “until I sweep your apartment. Say I got the wrong number, then hang up.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but you’ve got the wrong number. That’s all right, goodbye.” She hung up and switched on the TV news. A few minutes later there was a soft rap on her door. When she opened it, Bob Cantor came in with a toolbox and a finger to his lips. He motioned for her to sit down and say nothing.

She watched the news but retained none of it. A few minutes later Bob came back and motioned her to follow him outside into the hall.

“What did you find?” she asked.

“Bugs in every room,” he whispered. “I heard your conversation with Damien and thought something might be up.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Go back inside, fix yourself some dinner, watch TV for a while, then pack a couple of suitcases. We’re going to get you out of here tonight.”

Elise did as she was told.





40


The nurse arrived first, reminding Stone of Mrs. Doubtfire, save the Scottish accent. She took charge and began issuing rapid instructions to Joan.